Science and Tech – Latest News

2025.01.22 Just a reminder that Quanta Magazine has a YouTube channel with lots of great video tutorials. For example, at the beginning of each year they do a Biggest Breakthroughs, and you can play them one after another.

2026.01.22 1440’s page on its Science & Technology gives “informative overviews and expert-curated resources”. Here are just a few of the resources:-

• See every known species on this tree of life interactive
• Explore an interactive 3D model of the brain
• Explore an interactive map of the unified theories of everything
• Generative AI
• Quantum Mechanics
• Time

2026.01.16 1440 put together a great Introduction to CRISPR.

CRISPR is a molecular tool that can make precise changes to a gene’s DNA. An acronym for “clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats,” the tool was discovered in single-celled organisms, where it acts as an immune system to attack invasive viruses. Scientists have since used it to target and manipulate precise sections of DNA—the genetic blueprints for living things.

Each CRISPR has two parts—a “guide RNA” designed to latch onto a specific region of the DNA molecules and a Cas protein that cuts the targeted area (explore simulation). Cells try to repair the cut but often do so incorrectly, effectively deactivating that part of the blueprint (watch visualization). These deactivations can be used as medical treatments by selecting problematic genetic blueprints, such as those that cause an increased likelihood of getting cancer.

Dozens of clinical trials are underway for treatments that utilize CRISPR to address a range of diseases and allergies. Scientists are also utilizing CRISPR to develop new crops for food production, enhance the resilience of existing crops, and improve the sustainability of farming practices (learn more).

Also, check out … 

• Scientists have crossbred heat-resistant corals using CRISPR. (Read)
• Astronauts have repaired DNA in space using CRISPR. (Read)
• How CRISPR can drive malaria mosquitoes to extinction. (Read)
• The wartime apparel made with CRISPR-modified bacteria. (View)

Explore everything else we’ve found on CRISPR.

2026.01.12 Quanta Magazine tells us Why Do Cells Need To Die?

It is a cold, dark January here in the Northern Hemisphere. What better time to talk about cell death? Alas, every cell that lives will one day die, but typical cell death isn’t disruptive, chaotic, or injurious. It’s part of life. In the early 1970s, researchers described a formal, highly controlled death process known as apoptosis. It is widespread across the tree of life and regulated by the same genes in a diverse range of species, from worms to mammals.

When a cell is stressed or receives a particular signal from a neighboring cell, it starts to deteriorate systematically and safely through apoptosis. The cell shrinks; its internal contents condense and then collapse. Finally, it breaks apart into tiny sacs, known as blebs, which can be taken up by surrounding cells that can reuse the molecular parts. Crucially, apoptosis doesn’t hurt the dying cell’s neighbours; in uncontrolled cell death processes, such as necrosis, a sick cell bursts open, releasing toxic compounds that can damage surrounding cells. By contrast, apoptosis is like a controlled demolition.  

The ability of cells to die in this way is critical for the survival of multicellular species. In animals with nervous systems, for example, early development can be a violent time: A growing brain has many more cells than it needs and must shape and refine itself by killing off many of those neurons. When apoptosis goes awry, it can lead to a slew of complications. Cancer is composed of cells that should die but don’t, while people with autoimmune diseases are riddled with cells that should not die but do.

Though the process appears simple, questions of cellular life and death conceal great complexities. “The whole field of cell death is plagued by this question of defining what a dead cell is,” said the cell biologist Shai Shaham in a 2024 episode of our podcast The Joy of Why. Researchers are continuing to unpack what it means for a cell to live or die — and even to come back to life.

What’s New and Noteworthy

The origin of programmed cell death likely dates back billions of years, to ancient bacteria. In one study, researchers found that 2 million years ago, the first eukaryotes — a cell type with complex organization, including a nucleus and mitochondria, like those that make up our bodies — likely already had the tools for apoptosis, inherited from simpler bacterial forebears. It’s still debated why exactly the process originated. Some researchers speculate that ancient bacteria may have used these tools as defenses from external predators. Others propose that apoptosis evolved in single-celled organisms as a method of self-sacrifice for the good of the population, to prevent the spread of disease, for instance.

Cell death must be final, right? Turns out it’s not. Under the right conditions, some cells that have undergone apoptosis can resurrect themselves in a process called anastasis, after the Greek word for “rising to life.” This process both repairs cellular damage and restarts cellular processes. Just as apoptosis is a highly controlled process, so is anastasis; likewise, researchers have found anastasis in many different organisms, from fruit flies to rodents. It may have evolved as a way to hit the brakes on widespread apoptosis after severe but temporary stress, to limit permanent tissue damage.

Sometimes what may look like death is more like a really long nap. Most life on Earth is dormant: When faced with harsh conditions, like cold temperatures or a dearth of food, many species can slow down their metabolism and enter dormancy. But how? One study identified a protein, called a hibernation factor, that “pulls the emergency brake” in cells in Arctic permafrost by halting the creation of new proteins. Dormancy isn’t unique to microbes: In the human body, oocytes (egg cells) and immune system lymphocytes can stay dormant for long periods of time.

2026.01.11 1440 tell how to Making Sense of the Chernobyl Disaster

The Chernobyl disaster was the worst nuclear accident in history. During a late-night safety test on April 26, 1986, at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in present-day Ukraine, a combination of design flaws and operator errors triggered a massive power surge, leading to a pair of explosions that released radioactive material across large parts of the Northern Hemisphere.

The Soviet government initially downplayed the incident, waiting 36 hours to evacuate the nearby city of Pripyat, home to 50,000 people. An exclusion zone spanning 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the reactor was eventually established, displacing more than 300,000 people, while over 500,000 “liquidators” worked to decontaminate the site. A steel and concrete sarcophagus was then built in about seven months to contain the damaged reactor.

Chernobyl undermined trust in Soviet leadership and contributed to the USSR’s eventual collapse five years later. Its legacy includes not just environmental damage, but lasting physical and psychological harm for those affected and lasting uneasiness over nuclear power.

… Read our full explainer on Chernobyl here.

Also, check out … 

• Unpack the chemistry behind the catastrophe at Chernobyl. (Watch)
• The “Elephant’s Foot” in Chernobyl is part of the largest documented mass of corium. (Read)
• See eerie footage of the abandoned city of Pripyat a year after the event. (Watch)
• Attempts to suppress information about Chernobyl led to conspiracy theories. (Read)